Maintaining Flexibility Over the Upcoming Holidays
Thanksgiving break and December break are approaching before we know it! And it’s time to get you set up with a plan to maintain your flexibility over the upcoming holiday season. Don’t let your muscles become stiff during the upcoming vacations! Here’s how to stay flexible over the holidays so you can resume dance classes with ease in January.
Stretching Tips
As you stretch on your own during vacations, keep these tips in mind:
Get moving first thing in the morning: Start your day off right with some physical activity right after you wake up. Just don’t jump immediately into static stretching – your muscles need time to warm up first.
Stretch with whole-body movements: Dynamic stretching is best in the morning or right before a workout. This uses large, full-body movements to stretch and warm up your muscles at the same time. Lunges, arm swings and hip rolls are examples of dynamic stretches.
Focus on increasing strength with movement: Any time you can combine a stretch with a strength-training exercise allows you to get twice the benefit in half the time.
Work on any trouble spots: If you’ve been trying to master your center splits, put more time into stretching this part of your body.
Don’t over-stretch: As you focus on trouble areas, remember not to over-stretch. Don’t bounce into your stretches, and if you feel any pain, ease up a little.
Care for your spine: Remember to keep your abs engaged and your back straight, no matter what stretches you do. Good posture while stretching prevents spine injuries.
Do the Right Stretches
If your teacher leads stretching sessions before every dance class, continue to do this on your own during vacation weeks. Here are some other stretches we recommend:
Hamstring stretch: Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Reach forward and touch your toes. Hold for 20 seconds, release for a few moments and repeat.
Foot stretch: Crouch down on the floor with all your weight on the balls of your feet. Lean forward onto your toes to feel a stretch in the arch of your foot. Hold onto a chair for stability while doing this stretch.
Splits: Maintain your ability to do the splits by performing this stretch in every possible direction: left, right and center. For a different angle, place your foot high on a wall and lean into the stretch. You can also do the splits while lying on your back. Put your feet in the air with your ankles crossed, and then open your hips as wide as you can. Return to the starting position, and repeat this move 10 more times.
Lunges: This exercise increases leg strength while stretching your muscles. Do standard forward lunges and side lunges for maximum effect.
If you have any questions for our studio or would like to join one of the remaining spots in Season 23-24, we welcome you to call or email so that we can assist you with program selection. Happy stretching everyone!